International Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences and Technology

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1 Int. J. Pure Appl. Sci. Technol., 2(1) (2011), pp International Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences and Technology ISSN Available online at Research Paper Awareness and Knowledge Level of Swine Flu among Pig Farmers in the Ashanti Region of Ghana Patrick Appiah 1, Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum 2,*, Ransford Yeboah 3 and Fred Nimoh 4 1 Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, KNUST-Kumasi 2 Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra 3 Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, KNUST-Kumasi 4 Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, KNUST-Kumasi * Corresponding author, donsprakels@yahoo.com (Received: ; Accepted: ) Abstract: This study assessed the awareness and knowledge of swine flu (H1N1) among 100 pig farmers in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Simple random sampling was used to select the respondents. The study found out that 99% of the respondents were aware of the current swine flu outbreak and their main source of information was the radio. The respondents had a moderate knowledge level on swine flu. Age, marital status, educational level, household size, affiliation to pig farmers association, flock size, years of pig farming experience and type of labour were found to be significantly related to the knowledge level of the respondents. The study recommends that educational campaigns should be organised to update the pig farmers about the swine flu disease. Keywords: Awareness, Information, Knowledge Level, Pig Farmers, Swine Flu 1. Introduction: Until the recent H1N event, most swine influenza in humans was associated with occupational exposure, such as workers in the pig or poultry industries (FAO, 2009). According to Ferrari et al., (2009), influenza viruses circulating in humans have the potential of being transmitted to pigs. There have been confirmed cases of Influenza A (including H1N1) viruses in pig herds in Canada, Argentina, Australia, Northern Ireland, Singapore, Indonesia and Korea (Niman, 2009). The disease in swine has a strong economic impact on the pig industry. In industrial farming systems in the United Kingdom alone, swine influenza costs have been estimated at up to seven pounds ( 7) per pig, accounting for a financial loss

2 48 to the pig industry of approximately 65 million each year (FAO, 2009). The impact of transmission of influenza viruses from people to pigs should not be under-estimated. In Ghana, H1N1/2009 virus has been associated with illness in fourteen (14) people already but not yet in pigs (GNA, 2009). Pigs are unusual as they can be infected with influenza strains that usually infect three different species: pigs, birds and humans. This makes pigs a host where influenza viruses might exchange genes, producing new and dangerous strains (Thacker and Janke, 2008). Humans can also serve as a mixing vessel, hence co-circulating strains may combine to form a novel strain which when established can actually evolve into a highly virulent influenza virus. Because of the health and economic burden this disease may carry with it, it is important to prevent this pandemic from becoming endemic in the Ghanaian pig farming population. It is in line with this that a timely study of this nature has been organised to examine the knowledge level of pig farmers who could be the main source of infection to pigs. 2. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The population for the study was made up of all the pig farmers in the region. The estimated number of pig farmers in the region is about 250. The simple random sampling procedure was used to select 100 pig farmers as respondents for the study. Respondents were sampled randomly after a list of their names and contact numbers were obtained from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. A structured questionnaire with both open and closed ended questions was designed to collect data for the purpose of this research work. Data collected from the respondents was entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences-SPSS (Version 16.0). Frequency distributions, percentages, means, standard deviations and the chi square test of independence were employed to analyse the data. 3. Results and Discussion: Awareness of the swine flu pandemic Table 1: Awareness of the swine flu pandemic Awareness Frequency Percent Yes No Total Majority of the pig farmers constituting 99% indicated that they were aware of the outbreak of the swine flu pandemic in the country. Only a single respondent indicated he was not aware of the outbreak of the swine flu pandemic. This is really strange considering the fact that

3 49 though the disease is new in Ghana, it has caused such havoc that all pig farmers should have been aware of it. Farmers Main Source of Information on Swine flu pandemic Table 2: Farmers Main Source of Information on the Swine flu pandemic First Source of Information Frequency Percent Radio Television Newspaper Extension Agents (MoFA) Internet None Total It can be seen that the majority of the respondents (80%) indicated the radio as their main source of information. Studies in Nigeria have rather shown that most farmers get their information from extension agents/veterinary doctors (Mohammed & Waneso, 1993). The differences in results emphasises the need for concerned organisations to regularly identify these sources of information that farmers prefer, or use most, as this will enable them deliver quality agricultural information effectively to the farmers. Knowledge Responses on Swine flu pandemic Table 3: Knowledge Responses on Swine flu Variables Yes No Frequency Percent Frequency Percent Swine flu affects pigs Cause death in humans Cause death in pigs Spread from humans to humans Not through well cooked pork Spread from humans to pigs

4 50 Swine flu affects humans Prevention through vaccination Spreads from pigs to humans H1N1 is an influenza A virus type Prevention through vaccination in humans Spreads from infected pigs to uninfected pigs Swine flu is caused by influenza A Spreads among poultry birds Vaccination can be used to prevent outbreak among poultry birds Regular hand washing with soapy detergents can be used to prevent infection Transmission by contaminated surfaces H3N1, H1N2, H3N2 are some examples of influenza A viruses Of all the statements on swine flu, the most widely known among the farmers was swine flu infects pigs which was responded correctly by 97% of the respondents. Ninety-five percent (95%) indicated rightly that swine flu can spread from humans to humans. This was followed by swine flu causes death in humans and also swine flu can cause death in pigs as indicated by 94% of the farmers respectively. It can be seen that some of the statements testing respondents knowledge level on swine flu were poorly known among the farmers. For instance, it can be deduced that the farmers do not have much knowledge about the technical issues on the disease. Such technical aspects may be important because differences exist in the characteristics of swine influenza-causing virus strains. And as such these differences need to be ironed out clearly since this would help the farmers by keeping them fully informed.

5 51 Overall knowledge level of respondents on Swine flu Table 4: Overall knowledge levels on swine flu Knowledge level Frequency Percent Low (< 8) Moderate (9-12) High (12-18) Total Pig farmers knowledge level on swine flu was examined. The distribution of the respondents reveals that forty-eight percent (48%) of the farmers have a moderate level of knowledge on swine flu. This was followed by high knowledge level which was represented by thirty-one percent (31%) whiles the other twenty-one percent (21.0%) have low knowledge level on swine flu. Rahman (2003) noted that sustainability of agricultural production (and for that matter pig production) is largely dependent on the action of farmers and their decision making abilities given the level of knowledge and information that is available to them. The extent to which pig farmers can organise and implement effective biosecurity measures against the current swine flu disease depends largely on the knowledge they have about the disease. On this note, it will be important to upgrade knowledge level of all respondents in the low and medium knowledge level categories to the high category if not beyond. This will mean that the farmers will become fully knowledgeable about all aspects of the disease and hence will be able to prevent as well as control infections from the disease. Relationship between Knowledge Level and Selected Socio-Economic Characteristics Table 5: Chi square test of independence Variables X 2 calc. X 2 crit. Sig. level df Results Sex Accepted Age Rejected Marital Status Rejected Education Rejected Household size Rejected Affiliation Rejected Flock Size Rejected

6 52 Farming Experience Rejected From the table above, it can be said that the knowledge level of pig farmers on swine flu is dependent on age, marital status, education, household size, and affiliation to farmers association, size of flock and years of farming experience. Other researchers have also shown knowledge level to de dependent on age, educational level, household size and flock size (Tegegne et al., 2003). In simple terms, knowledge level on swine flu is likely to be high when respondents are of age, are married, have high educational status, large household size, are affiliated to a farmers association, have a large flock size and have a high farming working experience. 4. Conclusions and Recommendations Pig farmers are highly aware of the outbreak of the swine flu pandemic and radio is the main source of information on swine flu outbreak. Knowledge level on swine flu among pig farmers is moderate to high. The factors that affect farmers knowledge on swine flu are age, marital status, education, household size, affiliation, flock size and farming experience. Educational efforts to update pig farmers about the swine flu disease should be intensified and this can be channelled mainly through the radio. Age, marital status, educational level, household size, years of experience in pig farming and flock size were found to be related to knowledge level and hence in organising educational programmes these should be exploited. References [8] E. Thacker, and B. Janke, Swine influenza virus: zoonotic potential and vaccination strategies for the control of avian and swine influenzas. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 197(2008), [2] FAO. The human influenza due to a novel subtype H1N1, Food and Agricultural Organisation, (2009). [7] F. Tegegne, S. Muhammad, E. Ekanem, and S. Singh, Factors Affecting Farmers Knowledge of Biotechnology, Journal of Food Distribution Research, 6(2003), 3. [1] G. Ferrari, J. Pinto, N. Honhold, J. Zingeser, G. Dauphin, M. Kim, K. Dietze, J. Domenech, and J. Lubroth, FAO Guidelines for Surveillance of Pandemic H1N1/2009 and Other Influenza Viruses in Swine Populations, FAO, (2009). [3] GNA. Thirteen people confirmed with influenza H1N1 in Ghana but no deaths, Ghana News Agency, (2009). [5] H. Niman, Pandemic H1N1 in Quebec Swine, (2009). [4] I. Mohammed, and T. J. Waneso, Analysis of sources of farm Information: A case study of Western Zone of Plateau State Agricultural Development Programme. Nigerian Journal of Rural Extension and Development, 1 (2009),

7 53 [6] S. Rahman, Environmental Impact of Modern Agricultural technology Diffusion in Bangladesh: An Analysis of farmers Perceptions and their Determinants. Journal of Environmental Management, 68 (2003),